The Guitar Pick
by SugarLandBabyGirl
Summary: He's the handsome MVP Football player who plays electric guitar and makes every girl swoon with a dismissive "Fuu." She likes poetry and Electro-music, not to mention she doesn't even know the proper way to hold a football. Is the blossoming of romance or love between them even possible?
1. Chapter 1: Monday Morning Surprise

_**A/N:** _I recently looked over this story again and decided that it needed a bit of a make-over, nothing drastic but a few details were missing and such, so I've corrected it. This is the _new _chapter.

Take care,

~ SugarLandBabyGirl

* * *

**Chapter One:**

_Monday Morning Surprise_

Six o'clock sharp, on a clear sunlit and incredibly peaceful Monday morning. In a small community, the homely picturesque Shibutani household was already teeming with life. The large nine-member family was beginning their habitual morning ritual of getting ready for work and school. Hectic yet controlled chaos was a mild description of every morning in the white and pastel blue painted two-story house. The sound of children's high-pitched laughter, a few happy squeals and the thundering of heavy feet running up and down the stairs was a common morning melody that the Shibutani family's neighbors had long since become used to; whether they wanted to or not.

With two teenagers, the eldest being seventeen and the younger fourteen, a ten year-old, a nine year-old, two four year-olds and a twenty-one year-old, plus their parents living in one house, things were bound to get a little rowdy, especially in the mornings. There were three bathrooms total in the house and amazingly enough it was just enough for everyone to share. However, two of the siblings tended to clash horribly in the mornings, with their different tastes in music, causing them to wage a music war of sorts. If one put on a CD, so would the other, only the volume of the radios constantly rose, so as to drown out the other until it couldn't go any further.

"See ya later!" An attractive young woman in her early twenties yelled with a smile as she ran down the stairs. She had her long, mid-back length dark brunette hair pulled up into a high, neat ponytail that bounced behind her as she moved. Her shimmering hazel-green eyes were rimmed elegantly with thick smoky black eyeliner along her upper eyelashes with a thinner line on her lower eyelashes. She had applied light eye shadow on her eyelids, with brown eye shadow on her eyebrows and three layers of dense mascara on her long, full eyelashes. Her clothing was a grey and pink pinstripe ladies business suit with a pink blouse and a knee length skirt.

A course of 'good byes' followed after her, as she pulled on her black high heels at the door. After quickly pulling on her shoes and grabbing her shoulder purse, the brunette haired woman ran out to one of the three vehicles that sat in the crowded driveway. Pulling a set of keys out of her purse she unlocked the door to the sleek dark red metallic Shelby Mustang GT 500, it was a 2008 model and her newest test subject for work. Throwing the car in reverse the pretty young woman sped out of the driveway, carefully avoiding her father's vehicle.

"Teijo, Nikko, Yeika, you three have fourteen minutes left to finish getting ready!" A middle aged woman of only forty, with short dark brunette hair and dark azure eyes yelled up the stairs trying to motivate her three middle children. She received a quick course of 'okay mom' in return for her efforts and shook her head good naturedly before she turned to re-enter the kitchen.

She stopped momentarily in order to peer into the living room to check up on her husband, who was peacefully sitting on the beige chaise lounge with a steaming cup of warm tea in his left hand and watching the morning news with interest. Silently she gazed lovingly at her high school sweetheart and husband of twenty-three wonderful years. He had shaggy blonde hair that touched the line of his jaw and smiling light, bottle green eyes which were covered by dark-rimmed oval shaped glasses. He wore a dark gunmetal grey business suit with a white undershirt and a black and dark blue tie. Amazingly enough Kin still looked and sometimes acted the part of a cheeky good-humored teenager, yet Kita could honestly say that she wouldn't want him any other way.

Passing the living room and entering the kitchen, Kita saw her second eldest daughter sitting on one of the stools at the long bar with the infant twins, Kouta and Aina to her right. The two platinum blondes' sat on separate stools side-by-side, copying their elder sister, who was going over last night's homework for a third time that morning. Himitsu always made good decent grades in everything but Mathematics and she had a habit of stressing out far too easily when it came to the homework and tests on that subject. Her lack of proficiency in mathematics was something she had inherited from her father; he had never been one for math either.

"Hey sweethearts," Kita greeted her more punctual children with a loving motherly smile. The twins turned around to face their mother, icy green eyes bright as they greeted her with wide smiles. Remembering their unfinished breakfast the two quickly turned back to the momentarily forgotten food and began finishing off their plates. "How's the Algebra homework going, Himitsu?" Kita asked as she stepped up to her daughters left side, to look at what her dark blonde haired daughter was currently stressing over. The seventeen year-old tilted her head to the side, muttering something incoherent to herself, before lifting her head to look at her mother. Clear blue irises framed by square black rimmed glasses met Kita's dark azure gaze. Himitsu's forehead was lightly wrinkled and her nose was crinkled, alerting Kita that her daughter was already stressed out.

"It's… going," The seventeen year-old sighed wearily, her gaze back on the papers. Unconsciously she began tapping the head of her pencil against the counter top, in an agitated and nervous manner. She had a test today and things were not looking to be falling in her favor. She had finished and re-done her homework at least four times since she had gotten it last Friday. Kita moved to stand behind her stressed daughter and began to pull Himitsu's pin-straight rib-length hair into a singular, relaxed braid. Himitsu was quite tender headed and very few people could even reach for her hair and she not bolt. But, Kita was the same so she knew exactly how to handle the silken strands in her hands. Slowly, Himitsu calmed with the help of her mother's careful handling of her hair. It was strange, but Himitsu calmed down quicker when someone was playing with her hair, but few were able to touch it. When Kita finished the braid she pulled the black rubber band from her wrist and finished the braid.

"Here momma, we finished." The twins coursed with wide smiles, holding up their mostly finished off plates so their mother could see. "That's good sweethearts, thank you." Kita smiled proudly, taking the messy plates from her children. When the twins were no longer holding the plates they ran out of the kitchen and into the living room, where they could be heard talking adamantly to their father.

With a smile Kita took the dirty dishes to the sink and began washing them. Just as she finished drying the plates and putting them in the cabinet, the sound of multiple feet could be heard running down the stairs, moments before three more children piled into the kitchen. In the lead was a tall spiky dark blonde haired fourteen year-old boy with hazel-blue eyes. The second to enter the kitchen was a ten year-old boy with clear blue eyes and shaggy light brown hair with natural blond highlights. The third and final to enter the kitchen was a young nine-year-old girl with blue-green eyes and waist length light molten chocolate colored hair. The three were panting like they had run a marathon, but the large grins that graced their features was a clear sign that they didn't mind being out of breath.

"You three make such a ruckus. I'm surprised that the house hasn't collapsed on top of us, yet. You're about as subtle as an angry elephant in a tea house!" Their mother chastised with her hands on her hips and a stern frown on her sweet face. Her three middle children really were a hassle at times. They were always excessively hyper and loved to run and chase and pick on one another constantly. "Sorry mom, but Teijo bet us money that Yeika and I couldn't beat him into the kitchen." The blue-eyed boy apologized, with his confession of why they were running through the house like pack of unruly wolves. "I see then, Nikko." Was their mother's only reply, giving them a small knowing smile. Seeing their mother's smile made the three rowdy children grin back and laugh at their game and themselves for getting scolded.

"Okay, Himitsu, Teijo, Nikko and Yeika you'd better be ready for school. Your father is ready to leave for work and if none of you want to walk to school then you had better go get into the Hummer." With that said the four immediately bolted for the door, quiet Himitsu joining in as well, her stress over the math test almost completely forgotten. The four stopped momentarily at the front door to pick up their shoes before they threw open the door and ran to the black Hummer, not even taking the time to actually put their shoes on or close the door behind them. "And remember, the eldest gets the front seat!" Kita yelled after her rambunctious children, with a weary sigh. Knowing full well that they had raced to see who won and got to sit in the front, despite what she'd told them. "Bye hon, see you later." Kin said with a smile kissing his wife on the cheek and the twins, before handing over the twins, who were trying to follow after their elder siblings.

"Okay, honey," Kita pecked him on the lips with a smile and took the struggling toddlers from her husband's arms, so he could leave and take the rest of their children to their respective schools. Looking out the kitchen window, Kita saw that Himitsu had won the race. She was sitting in the font seat pulling on her shoes. Teijo was leaning on the middle armrest asking his elder sister something, while Nikko and Yeika were play-fighting throwing paper balls at each other and their elder brother and sister. All of them were smiling and or laughing, as their father climbed into the Hummer with a playful smile of his own. Just by looking at all of her children, it was clear to see that all of them had inherited his smile and mischievousness nature.

It was hard to imagine now, but just a few years ago it was Mika in Himitsu's place and Himitsu and Teijo were playing in the back seat, like Nikko and Yeika. Looking down at the two blonds in her arms, Kita knew that one day she'd see them in Nikko and Yeika's place. It was sad, knowing that her babies were growing up and would soon leave. Mika was twenty-one and still at home, but she had a stable job and was planning on moving out soon and Himitsu was seventeen, but Kita knew that Himitsu and Teijo would leave home earlier than their elder sister. Kita saw it in their eyes, they had the same want to be free and on their own that Kin and she once had as teenagers.

Kita shook her head to rid herself of such sad thoughts. She still had at least two years before Himitsu left and at least four or five for Teijo. There was nothing to cry over yet. They were still her babies and they would remain so even after they were grown and had families of their own. No matter what, they would always be her precious little ones.

* * *

Around fifteen minutes later, after Kin pulled out of his driveway his new chrome and black Hummer pulled up to an Elementary school. Nikko was the first to jump out of the vehicle, while Yeika hugged and kissed her father on the cheek. Nikko caught his sister round the waist when she all but bailed out of the back seat, giggling like she was on a sugar high. The blue-eyed boy gave his little sister a stern scowl for her childishness, before grabbing her hand and taking off in a run to the front entrance of their school.

Four right turns and seven minutes later, the Hummer pulled up to a middle school. Teijo lightly nudged his elder sister on the shoulder before saying a quick 'see you later' to the two left in the vehicle. Himitsu and Kin watched as the fourteen year-old boy ran up to the school and towards an attractive round-faced young girl with dark, shoulder length maraschino cherry colored hair. Himitsu smiled and giggled openly when she saw her younger brother's cheeks flush a bright pink when the cherry haired girl ran up to him and pecked him chastely on his glowing cheek. Teijo, still blushing furiously smiled sweetly and tenderly wrapped his arm around her slender waist. Kin and Himitsu shared a secretive smile before the green-eyed man drove away.

Teijo hadn't ever mentioned having a girlfriend, even though the subtle signs were there all along. This was probably Teijo's first real girlfriend and not the old babysitters he commonly called by that title. Kin and Himitsu were happy for him and the girl. They looked genuinely happy together and both Kin and Himitsu wondered when they would be properly introduced. Kin spared a quick sideways glanced at his blonde haired seventeen year-old daughter. She was leaning against the car window; her head was supported by the palm of her hand. Her long, dark blonde braid was tossed idly over her left shoulder and her schoolbag was draped sideways across her lap as she stared vacantly at the passing scenery as if in a daze.

"Hey puddin'," Kin started using the endearing nickname he had given her as a toddler. He could hardly believe that his little surprise was already seventeen and going to high school when he could clearly remember the warm morning that a smiling nurse handed her to him. She had been wrapped in a fuzzy yellow blanket, her tiny head topped with soft platinum blonde tuft. She had been so small at birth, barely five pounds and only twelve and a half inches in length.

Himitsu blinked slowly and tuned her head to look at her father. Her voice was soft, but inquisitive, "Yes, daddy?" Her free hand was unconsciously twirling a loose string on her schoolbag. Kin gave a cheeky grin, flipped the blinker for a right turn and asked, "You don't happen to have a secret boyfriend, do you, because, I'd like to meet him if you do. And I promise to behave and act like an adult this time when you bring him over."

Himitsu could hear the withheld laughter in her father's voice, as her eyes grew wide and round at his question. "Of course not daddy! I haven't had a boyfriend since last summer break, you know that." Kin laughed, a picture of his daughter's first boyfriend coming to mind. "Oh, right that Hokari boy; the one that wore makeup, purple nail polish and had bits of metal stuck in his face."

"His name was _Hokori_ Ryuu dad and he only had _two_piercings." Himitsu corrected with a sigh. She was a bit embarrassed that her father had suddenly brought up that subject. Of course her dad would get her ex's name wrong. They had only met briefly a couple of times, before Himitsu and he had broken up a month and a half after getting together. They didn't have a nice breakup either, although she had never told anyone but her three friends, Mika, Teijo and her mother the exact details of their breakup. It had been one of those horribly cliché romances between the 'good girl' and the 'bad boy' that never, ever works out in real life.

"Hokori, right, that's what I said. But even if he only had two piercings, how do you explain the makeup? I mean the last time I checked cosmetics were made for girls. If he had a few issues with his masculinity, I would have gladly helped him out, you know." Her father nagged further, a teasing grin on his lips. He liked to tease his daughter about that boy's appearance. It was all in good fun though. His reaction to the Hokori boy's piercings, eyeliner and painted nails was nothing compared to the four youngest, especially Yeika. His youngest brunette haired daughter had unquestionably embarrassed both her elder sister and the boy, with her loud comment of how Himitsu was caught kissing a so-called _'girly-boy'_.

"Daddy, he didn't have masculinity issues. It's a style." Himitsu sighed, pulling her schoolbag onto her shoulder as her father pulled to a stop in front of Bando Senior High School. "See you later, daddy. Have a good day at work." She said with a smile, leaning over and pecking her father lightly on the cheek, before sliding off the dark grey leather seat. "Love you, be good puddin'." Her father called, as she ran to meet her friends who were waiting for her at the school entrance. She stopped to wave back at him, before he rolled the passenger window up and drove away.


	2. Chapter 2: Unnoticed But Always There

_**Chapter Two**_

_Unnoticed But Always There_

"Hey guys!" Himitsu smiled as she ran up to a group of three second year students. A darkly tanned seventeen year-old girl with white-tipped waist length black hair waved back, the smile on her face reaching her glowing lavender eyes. She had her left eyebrow pierced and both of her ears had four piercing each, with several tattoos hidden under her school uniform. Takahiro Miyu was a bit rebellious and had a mean left hook, but she had the kindest heart and she was as loyal as they came.

Standing next to Miyu was another girl. She had choppy cut, shoulder length platinum blonde hair and light jade eyes. Her skin was almost a sickly pale in color, but somehow it suited her just fine. She had both of her ears pierced twice each and a small diamond stud in her nose. Her multicolored fingernails glimmered like jewels as she raked her hands through her hair, trying to make her hair fluff up more. Nanami Sayuri was a self-claimed 'new-age model,' who despite her outward appearance was the biggest tomboy in all of Bando High. It was a title that none could contest and she was quite proud of it.

The only male of the group was a black hair teen with caramel brown eyes. He had no outlandish or unique characteristics that made him standout like his two friends, but his personality more than made up for that. Tsubasa Yoshiro was a big time prankster and motorbike fan, despite his goody-two-shoes appearance and grades. He was always getting into some sort of trouble with his playful nature.

The four longtime friends greeted each other with smiles and shared a few laughs, as they walked into the school building as a group each exchanging the details of what they did for the weekend and what they wished they could have done instead. All four friends shared all of the same classes and only one of them had actually studied for the mathematics test they were going to be taking for first period. Lost in their own conversation's the group of four friends never took notice or acknowledged the pair of bickering second years that they had to pass by to get into their first class.

"You can't be serious Akaba, that's not smart at all!" A spiky dark purple-haired male yelled angrily, as he habitually combed his hair in a swift agitated manner. The red haired male he was one-sidedly arguing with just sighed and pushed his blue tinted glasses up the bridge of his nose. With a slightly agitated and indifferent "Fuu" the slender Football player brushed past his teammate and sauntered into his first period class. Kōtarō was left openmouthed and fuming in the hallway, with Juri trying to calm the eccentric kicker down and get him into his class before their algebra teacher came.

Of course the methods that the teal-eyed female used were quite bizarre and usually violent. Raising her heavy textbook, she drew back and slammed the book into the back of the kicker's spiky purple haired head, a loud "thwack" ricocheted down the hall, which was quickly follow by the sound of a body hitting the ground.

"Kōtarō, can you not pick a fight with Akaba for once? We're in school and you should be in class, like everyone else!" The furious girl raged, as she stood threateningly over the cringing kicker. They might have been childhood friends, but damn if she sure didn't act like his elder sister half the time, he'd quit combing his hair. The similarities between the two were scary.

"Ack! You shouldn't hit people in the head when they have to take an important test, it's just not smart!" Kōtarō whined accusingly, thinking that he didn't deserve the strike that he had just received.

Akaba Hayato had wanted to take one of the closer seats to the back, but unfortunately for him all of the seats in the back were already taken. No one liked to be in the front seats of this particular class. It was all because of the easily frustrated teacher and his frustratingly harsh habit of taking his favorite ruler and striking his desk when someone in the class wasn't paying attention or gave a wrong answer. The man had no musical sense at all. The red-haired fullback had concluded that the mathematics teacher had a rather annoyingly dull and repetitive rhythm. It was truly rather nerve grating and he did not care to acknowledge it.

It wasn't long before the Mathematics teacher came down the hall. Upon seeing one of his more bothersome and highly interruptive student standing in the hall and not sitting at his desk, the middle aged ex-military man frowned, before walking up to the troublemaker and harshly seizing the boy's ear and dragging him into the classroom. Everyone in the class stared in silence, not brave enough to laugh or even quirk a smile at the humorous situation.

"All right, now that everyone has taken their seats, we can begin class. Your weekend assignments are due now, so when you are finished writing down today's assignments I want your homework. Remember that I will dock fifteen points each for every incomplete and unworked problem that I find. I will not tolerate anymore of just giving the answer or having half of the question done. I want every problem fully and properly worked out on your papers. I don't care if it takes a whole page to do one problem just do it." The obviously irritated Uzuki Baku barked at his silent students, flipping open his teacher's book and after finding today's assignments he wrote the page numbers and the questions that were to be done on the board.

Turning to face his students, he gave every one of them a stern glance over before speaking, "Also for today's assignment I want at least half of the work finished and handed to me by the end of this class. If I spot anything other than a calculator, pen, textbook and a notebook on your desk, then I will confiscate the item and twenty-five percent will be docked from you next test grade."

The whole class nodded their understanding, before many students began to stand from their desks, homework in hand. In a class of twenty-six students things could get problematical very easily, yet all twenty-six students stood in a very orderly line. Mr. Uzuki had straightened all of the students out within the first week of class; they had quickly learned that talking was not prohibited, unless he asked them a question or if they needed to ask him a question. Making their chairs squeak or any other disruptive and unnecessary noise was an offence that would cost them half their next test's grade and they would be given three separate worksheets, which were twenty pages each. The ex-military man was a slave-driver and he demanded nothing less than absolute perfection. But, if a student did exactly as he said and followed his rules they were guaranteed to pass his class and remember what they had been taught later on in life.

Himitsu was one of the first six to turn in her homework, so she was one of the luckier ones. The faster you got to his desk and turned in your homework, the longer you had to work on the in-class assignments. On the way back to her desk Himitsu sidestepped to the left-to avoid hitting a desk and causing her teacher to lose his extremely short temper for a second time that morning-only for her to clip the shoulder of one of her classmates. She paused for a second to whisper a quick but sincere apology, before continuing on to her desk. Not even glancing up to see who she had hit or if they had accepted her apology or not.

It wouldn't matter anyhow, she mused as she took her seat and began to start on her work. Whoever she had hit couldn't say anything to her until after class was dismissed. She could deal with that later, but right now she had a lot of work that needed to get done and worrying about an angry classmate would only be an unnecessary distraction. If they wanted a proper apology then all they had to do was find her after class, it was just that simple. It might have seemed a bit rude, but it had been an accident and she had already apologized. There wasn't else much she could do without attracting the attention of her mathematics teacher and she would rather have a fellow student angry at her than him.

The student that the dark blonde-haired girl had hit didn't even flinch, when her elbow had unexpectedly struck him in the ribs. It had surprised him sure, but there was hardly if any true force behind the hit. Not that he expected there to be anyways. The girl was quite slender, slightly bordering on too willowy to be in peak physical condition and health. With that body type he knew that she didn't have much muscle mass. She was shorter than him as well, not that that was a big surprise either. He'd guess that she bordered on being five foot five and a half inches tall, give or take a an inch or two and maybe weighing 117 pounds at the most, which was a few pounds underweight for her height.

Taking in her physical features, he noticed that she was more or less average in the 'beautiful-looks' category. She wore a light layer of makeup on her face, no lipstick or any other cosmetics. Her hair had a natural healthy shine, showing no signs of ever being abused by flat irons, curling irons, hair dye or simple neglect. This made him assume that her hair color was natural, as a complete dye like that would surely show signs of damaging the hair and no dark roots were showing either. Her skin was, for the most part quite pale, but the slight reddening around her nose showed that she burned easily under the sun and probably didn't tan much, if any at all.

He would have examined the girl a bit more-just out of curiosity and boredom-if it wasn't finally his turn to hand in his homework. As quickly as she entered the red-haired teen's thoughts she faded. He had a lot of work to start on and finish, before the end of his first period.

'_Fuu, this class has such a lackluster rhythm, just like the teacher.' _The red-eyed MVP thought sourly, as he sat down at his desk and began to look over his assigned work. Neither he nor the blonde-haired girl, who had elbowed him, noticed that they sat only a desk apart from one another. They were too preoccupied to even survey their surroundings. Let alone observe or acknowledge someone whom they had never even met before.

When Mr. Uzuki dismissed class everyone was ecstatic, except Himitsu. She hadn't quite finished half of her assignments, but when he called the end of class there was nothing she could do but turn in what she had finished. She just hoped he would be considerate in his judgment of her work. She really couldn't afford to have points docked, when she was already good at doing that herself. Standing near the end of the long line of students, Himitsu couldn't help but notice the two standing in front of her.

A dark aqua-haired girl around her height was mutely arguing with a tall purple haired boy who was apparently trying to look at her papers. The girl kept smacking the taller boy in the back of the head every time he turned to look back at her. The spiky haired teen kept giving the shorter girl accusing yet pitiful glances, but the girl just kept glaring and making him turn back around. Himitsu caught sight of white-tipped waist length black hair and noticed that Miyu's stance was stiff and she kept making soft agitated huffs. Himitsu guess that the two rowdy teens behind her were annoying her friend a great deal and then she caught sight of why; the purple haired boy kept stepping on the back of her heels every time he went to turn to face the dark aqua-haired girl.

When the purple haired boy had finally had enough of being smacked in the head, he swiftly turned around surprising the shorter girl and simultaneously elbowing Miyu in the back. The aqua haired girl stepped back in surprise, accidentally pushing Himitsu backwards and into the person behind her, while Miyu went tumbling into Sayuri, who was pushed into Yoshiro's back. A domino effect proceeded to the front of the line.

"Kōtarō!" Juri yelled accusingly, looking horrified at what they had caused happen. Everyone in front of Kōtarō was on the floor in a lumpy domino line, while she was left standing. Kōtarō had reacted fast enough to keep her from falling to the floor, but that wasn't as comforting as it should have been. There would be hell to pay for this.

"Mister Sasaki, you can't go for one whole class period without causing trouble can you!" A livid Mr. Uzuki shouted his face a blotchy red as he stood from his desk and stomped his way towards the back of the now fallen line of students. He looked angry enough to throttle the gaping purple haired teen.

As the angry teacher neared the six remaining students, who had not fallen, Himitsu instinctively tried to back away from the two colorful haired teens in front of her. Only for her back to meet what felt like a heated and breathing brick wall covered in cloth. Instantly she noticed that there was an arm around her upper abdomen. The realization that she hadn't ended up on the floor, like the majority of her classmates suddenly hit her and her head snapped up to see what or rather who had kept her from landing on her backside along with the two students who were behind whoever had kept her upright.

Her glasses were practically hanging off the end of her nose, but the face of the tall body behind her was close enough that she could make out his facial features well enough. Himitsu was speechless. She couldn't have spoken even if she had been stabbed. Staring straight back at her were the most intimidating and unusual pair of irises she had ever seen. His eyes were a vibrantly red shade and the way his eyes were narrowed with such an indomitable and penetrating gaze only served stun her further. He wasn't just looked _at_ her he was almost literally looking _through_ her. It was frightening, the way his eyes seemed to see so much. It made her feel so inferior, like he was a grand God of old world mythology and she a mere lowly human.

Noticing a slight hint of apprehension starting to envelope her clear blue eyes and facial features, Hayato blinked and softened his gaze. With a soft "Fuu," he eased the stunned girl forward, while stepping back and removing his arm from around her waist. When he was no longer touching the dark blonde haired girl and there was a comfortable distance between them, he spoke. "Are you all right?"

The wide-eyed girl made some sort of choked sound, before straightening her dark rimmed glasses so they were properly set on her face. Hayato noticed that the girl pulled her papers to her chest in a protective manner, before answering him. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Thank you." Her voice was quiet, more timid than anything, as she avoided direct eye contact with him, her eyes preferring to drift off to his right or left than actually meet his eyes.

He nodded his head, accepting her gratitude. But he didn't stop studying the girl. She was the same one who had elbowed him in the ribs earlier and several things he had wondered about earlier had just been confirmed and he had discovered a few new things. For one, she _was_ underweight, but not as willowy as he had first thought. She had a little bit of a figure to her, but not much. She seemed to be easily intimidated and bit at her fingernails when she was nervous and from the way her fingers twitched when she spoke. He guessed that she usually moved her hands about when she spoke. It was only her insecurity in front of him that kept her hands clutched protectively to her chest.

Again, he was interrupted from studying the girl further, when the raucous voice of their teacher bellowed, "You have disrupted this class for the last time Mister Sasaki!" It didn't go unnoticed by him that the blonde haired girl jumped like she had been electrocuted, at their teacher's sudden angry outburst, nor do the fact that she nearly toppled over the desk behind her, but she managed to somewhat steady herself so she didn't fall.

"All of you are to leave your papers in a _neat_ stack on my desk before you leave." The teacher barked, while dragging Kōtarō out of the classroom by his ear. Everyone guessed that the kicker was going to be taken to the principles office for this incident.

Juri stared after her childhood friend with a look of pity. Perhaps she shouldn't have been so harsh. She could only hope that he wouldn't get kicked off the Football team because of her, well it was partially his fault as well, but she had a hand it in as well. Suddenly remembering that she had bumped into someone behind her, she snapped her fingers and turned around to apologize. Only to see a bespeckled blonde haired girl standing as far away from Bando's red-haired Ace player as she could get and not on the floor.

"Hey," Juri smiled turning to the anxious blonde. When the girl's attention turned to her, Juri continued. "I'm sorry for bumping into you. Are you okay? I mean did I hurt you or anything?"

"No, I'm fine and it's all right. No harm done." The girl smiled her voice shy, but Juri could tell that something was wrong. The girl kept fidgeting and her eyes kept shifting nervously back behind her, where Akaba was standing. The aforementioned male was watching the smaller with an interestedly intense gaze, one that she only saw when he was playing football or watching the team practice.

That was certainly interesting Juri mused silently. Deciding that she'd ask Akaba about it later, she smiled once more. "My name's Sawai Juri, what's yours?" She asked kindly, introducing herself.

This seemed to ease the blonde haired girl a bit, as she gave a small bow and replied. Her voice was still on the shy side, yet it was louder then before. "I'm Shibutani Himitsu. It's nice to meet you Juri-san."

Juri giggled at Himitsu's use of honorific on her name. "Just call me Juri, Himitsu-chan. You don't have to use any honorifics, I mean you can, but I don't really like to use them myself."

"O-oh, all right if you insist… Juri." Himitsu paused unsurely before speaking a stranger's name without an honorific. Of course she didn't use an honorific when she addressed her friends or family, but that was different, she had known them long enough to become comfortable with them. Addressing someone she had just met so familiarly just felt weird, but Juri seemed to find her hesitance humorous.

"Hey Himitsu, don't dawdle we have to be in Language class in like four minutes! Come on girl!" Sayuri called from the class entrance, interrupting their conversation. Himitsu took a quick glance around and noticed that only she, Juri and the red-eyed male behind her were the only ones left.

Quickly excusing herself, Himitsu quickly placed her papers on the desk and rushed to her desk to collect her stuff, before rushing to her friends and down the hall. Juri watched as Himitsu disappeared down the hall with her three friends, Akaba behind her. They had Language class as well. It was strange, Juri had never taken notice of the four friends before and apparently neither had the silent fullback.

"Did you prevent her from falling down, Akaba?" Juri asked curiously, already knowing the answer, but wanting confirmation just incase. Besides the way he was observing her was quite strange for his character. He usually never paid any attention to girls, usually brushing them off with a dismissive "Fuu."

What was really interesting though was Himitsu's reaction to him. Juri had never seen anyone look so intimated by the MVP, even during football games. Girls usually swooned and fell at his feet, but she didn't seem to want to be around him at all. In fact if Juri wasn't mistaken Himitsu had ran from the classroom because of him and not because she was late for her next class.

With his blue tinted glasses back on his face hiding his colored contacts, Akaba nodded his head not saying a word. He was preoccupied with thinking about the girl who had hit him twice in the same day. Shibutani Himitsu, it was an unusual name for sure, but it had a nice rhythm to it and it wasn't a name that was easily forgotten once heard. It seemed like they had the same schedule, but Akaba couldn't ever remember noticing her in any of his classes before today. She wasn't new to Bando High that was certain, so he was either not paying proper attention to which students were in the same classes as him. Or she was purposely trying not to be noticed. However, with friends who looked like those two girls she ran off with and that boy was Bando's infamous prankster, Tsubasa Yoshiro. So he seriously doubted it was the latter.

'_Fuu… Secret, huh?'_ Yeah, her name fit perfectly, he smirked at that thought, as he walked into is next class, immediately taking notice of the blonde haired girl. She was sitting in the first desk, the one closest to the teacher's desk and the door. Her black and white haired friend was sitting to her left, with the other blonde haired girl and the prankster sitting behind them.

Akaba took an empty seat at the back of class, respectfully removing his glasses as the teacher walked in._ 'Not so secret any more.'_


	3. Chapter 3: Stereotypical Judgment

_**Chapter Three:**_

_Stereotypical Judgment_

"Himitsu, hey Himitsu-chan! Hello, Earth to Shibutani Himitsu! Come on girl, don't space out on me, I can't fly you know!" Sayuri's voice broke through Himitsu's boggy haze of thoughts. She blinked twice, her eyes slowly coming to focus on a finely manicured hand waving mere centimeters in front of her face. Her clear blue eyes slowly trailed upwards to look into a pair of mildly agitated, but smiling jade eyes.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Sayuri." Himitsu muttered sheepishly. A light shade of pink dusted her pale cheeks. "I was just… lost in thought." She continued quietly, as she tried to hide her evident embarrassment in her thick Composition 1 course book. Their Comp 1 teacher, Mrs. Kurosawa Atsuko had suggested that they use an English language book. She had said that it was so they could understand the language better and it helped that she was also their English Language teacher. The essay Himitsu was previously trying to follow, before she slipped off into a daze, was a rather tedious one called '_Ode to Thanksgiving'_ by Michael J. Arlen.

"Yeah, I could tell." The platinum blonde teen laughed good-naturedly. Sayuri intently picked through her food with her chopsticks, plucking bits of onions, bell peppers and mushrooms from her dish. After finding and removing every piece of the unwanted food from her plate she evenly distributed the three foods between her friend's plates. Miyu got the onions, Yoshiro got the bell peppers and Himitsu got the mushrooms. It was an everyday ritual they had acquired in middle school. Or rather it was a ritual Sayuri had developed.

"Eh! What the crap does _'mollified'_ and _'provenance' _mean?" Miyu ground out through clenched teeth. Her hands shook in aggravation as she looked over a long list of previously unknown words that Mrs. Kurosawa Atsuko had given them to study over for their next test. "And just who thought up the words _'kowtowing',_ _'inextricably'_, _'picayune'_, _'undeleterious'_ and half the other words one here that probably don't even show up in a freaking dictionary!" The tanned girl continued to rant, as the innocent off-white paper in her hands starting to rip at the edges where her hands held on to it.

"Don't stress over it Miyu, it's _just _words. Oh and if I were you I'd loosen that viper grip you have there. You're going to need that paper in one piece." Yoshiro laughed, subtly scooting closer to Himitsu and away from the _'go_-_to-hell'_ glare his lavender eyed friend was shooting his way.

"Yoshiro, don't provoke her or you'll have two black eyes this go round." Sayuri sagely informed the handsome prankster, after swallowing the large chunk of grilled chicken without taking the time to chew. Yoshiro grimaced at the thought of Miyu's punches and at seeing Sayuri's less than feminine eating habits. He had been around the three girls since forever it seemed. However, he still hadn't gotten used to the platinum blonde's tomboy traits. The girl had an appetite like a starved wolf and she ate like one too.

"Nah, she won't hit me," Yoshiro grinned cheekily at the disbelieving look Sayuri sent his way and the glare he was receiving from Miyu. "Himitsu will save me from her wrath. Right, Himitsu-chan?" He grinned rather charmingly, looping his arm around Himitsu's shoulders before he turned to the quiet bespeckled girl to his right.

Himitsu glanced up from her book and looked at each of her companions. When she turned back to the grinning black haired boy, she gave him a piteous smile. "As much as I absolutely _love_ to be your shield Yoshiro, I don't think now is the time for me to stand in-between you and Miyu's anger."

"Ow! That really hurts Himitsu!" Yoshiro clutched at his chest in mock hurt, as if her words had solidified and pierced him in the chest. The big grin on his face made his act look more humorous that it should have, as he faked a heart seizure. Miyu rolled her eyes with a huff, before she reached over and clipped him in the back of the head, while Sayuri just ignored him.

Himitsu chuckled lightly, marking her place in the book with a white feathered and beaded book thong. There was no way she could read that essay with all the commotion going on around her. Not that she really wanted to read it in the first place. She needed to read it, but they had all ready been in and out of that class, so it could wait. She'd rather mess around with her friends and eat anyway.

Himitsu's arms cradled her stomach when it let out a pathetic growl. She hadn't touched her food yet. Glancing down at her plate she silently gauged what she might want to ingest from her pre-chosen menu. Himitsu hadn't actually had the privilege to get her own plate, thanks to her friends. They were worried that she wasn't eating properly proportioned meals, because of her slender form. She wasn't a vegetarian and she wasn't bulimic. Her long time family pediatrician and another Doctor she had been sent to said she was suffering from a small case of Anorexia nervosa.

Her parents and friends had freaked out when they noticed she wasn't eating as much as she once did, but by then it was too late. She hadn't become skin and bones, but her body weight was well under what it should have been. She wasn't that underweight anymore, but four years of not eating much had caused her friends to get her food for her. Just to make sure she didn't slip back into the habit. With a heavy sigh Himitsu broke her chopsticks and began to eat, while Yoshiro and Miyu started a small scuffle.

"So, Himitsu do you know whose arms you fell into today?" Sayuri asked with a teasing grin, as the four friends made their way to their next class, Sociology. Sayuri was sure that Himitsu had no clue as to who the cherry-haired male was or just how popular he was. But she did and she wanted to see what Himitsu knew, before she spilled the beans. A little playful teasing never hurt.

"No… well maybe, I think I might have a clue. I'm not one-hundred percent sure though." The blue eyed girl thought aloud as she tried to place a name to such a noticeable person. She was acutely aware of the pink that had begun to grace her cheeks at the memory. She couldn't deny that he was handsome. Hell if anything _'handsome' _was almost an insult to his looks. He was almost certainly the incarnation of some ancient deity because of his confidence and perfection.

"Wait, you fell into some guys arms?" Yoshiro asked with a laugh, shaking his head in clear disbelief. "Dang girl, I didn't know you had it in you to make the first move! So who was it?" He said looping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a playfully teasing hug. Himitsu's face instantly flamed.

"N-no it wasn't like that, Yoshiro! The boy behind Miyu made the girl behind him push me backwards and-and he just caught me, so he wouldn't fall down too!" She sputtered trying to defend herself and correct Yoshiro's assumption of what really happened. Yoshiro just laughed and shook his head, as he kept the blushing girl in his arms.

"Who was this _'prince charming'_ anyways?" Miyu asked curiously, entering the conversation after she noticed the grin that Sayuri was sporting. She must have known something about the guy that Himitsu would find interesting or embarrassing. Either way, she was beyond curious as to who the mystery guy was.

"Oh, you guys are really going to like this, trust me." The smirk on Sayuri's face was almost evil and Himitsu couldn't stop a shiver that raced down her spine or the feeling of impending doom that had begun to settle in her stomach. Himitsu wasn't sure she really wanted to know his identity anymore, but Sayuri was going to tell even if she objected. "Our, little Himitsu-chan managed to fall into _the_ Akaba Hayato's arms. Can you believe that?" She chuckled.

"Oh my god, are you freaking serious?" Miyu stopped dead in her tracks and gaped openmouthed and wide-eyed at Himitsu, who was still in Yoshiro's arms. He had stopped to, his reaction mirroring the dark haired girl's. Sayuri grinned like Christmas had come early and nodded her head in conformation, while Himitsu looked down right mortified. The four friends stood in the middle of the hallway. An eerie silence enveloped the four teenagers, until suddenly both Miyu and Yoshiro broke out into hysterical laughter.

"Oh god, that is so great!" Miyu gasped out, still laughing hysterically. "You-you fell into _that_ guys arms? Oh, Himitsu that guy is like the most popular and well know guy to ever attend Bando High! _And _if that wasn't sweet enough, the guy is on the football team, the_ Ace_ player at that!" Tears now freely rolled down Miyu's face as she gasped for much needed oxygen.

"Not to mention the way he acts, looks and speaks! He's the one who always uses musical metaphors to state his opinions. Dang girl, you sure know how to pick them don't you?" Yoshiro finished, his laughter slowly dying down. He had released Himitsu when he started laughing and was unaware of the many odd looks he and Miyu were receiving. One of the people giving them a weird look was Himitsu. She didn't see what was so funny about accidentally falling into Akaba Hayato.

Himitsu flushed crimson, out of both embarrassment and slight anger. She hadn't known that he was _the_ Akaba Hayato. Everyone knew that name and associated him with several things. The first and most important would be American Football. He was Bando's acclaimed Ace and MVP after all. He was also a top student, making some of the best grades and he was known to play and carry his electric guitar _everywhere_. He was also one of the more well-off students moneywise. There was nothing wrong with having money, or not having much. Himitsu couldn't careless either way. Money wasn't what defined people, anyways. But as far as he acted, looked and spoke, well she found nothing unusual, strange or funny about it.

He was obviously the serious type and probably didn't mind telling people what he thought of them, _exactly_ what he thought. But there was nothing wrong with that either. As for how he looked… well, despite his unusual eye and hair color, he was simply downright gorgeous. There was nothing wrong with that either, besides the unusual color seemed to suit him somehow. As for the way he spoke, she couldn't quite understand why they had said that in the first place. She noticed that he had an unusual sigh-like hum catchphrase, but when he had spoke to her she hadn't noticed anything weird and what was wrong with him using musical metaphors when stating his opinion? It was a bit unusual sure, but nothing to make fun of.

Himitsu's eyes narrowed slightly at her friends jesting. They were the last people who should have been making fun of someone's oddities. After all they were often labeled as Bando's most bizarre students or in some cases the Bando freaks. Turning her back to her still laughing friends, Himitsu silently stalked off to her next class. Sayuri watched with sad jade eyes as her blonde haired friend walked off giving them the cold shoulder. The instantaneous silence that followed the bespectacled girls leave was spine-chilling.

Sayuri turned to glare at the two guilty looking teens. "You two should have known better." She bit out angrily. The two flinched at her harsh tone and looked elsewhere, silently acknowledging their grave mistake. "Apologize to her _immediately _after class." Sayuri ordered, before swiftly stalking away feeling just as guilty as Miyu and Yoshiro, because she had brought it up. Miyu and Yoshiro silently collected themselves and their things before wordlessly following after Sayuri.

Himitsu stepped into her next classroom and took her usual front row seat. Not really paying attention to the happy chatter or people around her she didn't notice that the cherry red-haired teenager she and her friends had previously talked about was sitting in the corner seat of the back row with Juri and Kōtarō. The aqua haired girl was sitting in-between the two boys with a thoughtful frown on her face, as she silently looked over her syllabus. Kōtarō leaned on his desk, his head propped in his hand with a bored look on his face as he casually flipped through his Sociology book.

Akaba meanwhile, had taken to observe the quiet blonde-haired girl at the front of the class. Who had, interestingly enough walked into the room alone. He could tell something had happened. Probably a fight between friends, he guessed. She was clearly disturbed from whatever it was. She had such a readable face. Her every emotion was so obvious and currently she was somewhere between slightly angry, thoughtful and sad.

Akaba quirked a questioning brow at the last emotion he saw flash across her face. He could only speculate about why she was sad. But to him, that particular emotion just didn't suit her at all. True, he didn't know anything about her, other than her name. Maybe it was her overly expressional face or blatant fragility. He didn't know why, but sadness wasn't something he wanted to see on her face or in her eyes ever again.

Himitsu flipped open her introduction to Sociology book and started re-reading on the chapter's they were going to go over today, after she pulled out a notebook and three pencils. Their teacher Mrs. Kazumi Mami was relatively forgiving of mistakes, but she didn't allow any horseplay in her class, unless she started it. Interestingly enough, she was the rare type of teacher who would often bring sweets to class and share them with the students. Students were also allowed to have capped drinks in her class as well. Out of all the teachers in the school, Himitsu liked Mrs. Kazumi Mami the best, but so did the rest of the student body.

"Hello class," The bright voice of Kazumi Mami greeted her students, as she walked into the classroom with a wide smile. Himitsu saw her three friends walk in sulkily behind the young happy teacher, but said nothing. The three teens took their regular seated positions around their silent friend, as they twenty-five year-old teacher started class. Her customary tradition of passing out a bag of sweets for the student's picking pleasure was already beginning. Sugar was a bad thing for a teenager for several reasons, but Himitsu loved sweets as much as she strangely loved her vegetables and fruits. So when the vast bag of goodies came around to her seat she couldn't help but get the variety pack of Pocky. Himitsu rarely splurged of candy or unnecessary things like most teenagers, but when she had the chance she soaked it up for all it's worth and Pocky was her secret addiction, along with Pretz and several other snacks.

"Today, I'd like to place some of you in small study groups for the week. So to be fair, I'll pass out study sheets and straws of different colors and whoever gets the same color straw will be in partners in that color's study group." Mrs. Kazumi Mami made an apologetic face when some of the class sighed at the prospect of being split from their clicks. Himitsu was a little nervous at being separated from her friends, as she was one of those people who though always kind and polite never really ventured from her band of longtime friends.

"I'm sorry, but I thought it would be fair this way." The brown haired woman apologized, as she shuffled a stack of papers and a hand full of different shades of neon straws. As Mrs. Kazumi passed by the front row Himitsu visibly sunk in her seat, as every one of her friends were handed a different neon shade straw. Himitsu was fitted with a blinding hot pink straw, while Sayuri had bright yellow, Miyu a lovely shade of light blue and Yoshiro was given a lime green straw.

"Okay," Mrs. Kazumi spoke with a smile as she moved to stand at the front of the class, her hazel eyes shimmering in genuine happiness as she looked over her mostly crestfallen class. "Now that everyone had received their straws, I'd like everyone with a green straw to move to the right back corner and please do so in an orderly fashion." The hazel eyed instructor requested as several students made an unnecessary ruckus as they left their friends and seats.

Several minutes later, Himitsu sat quietly huddled in the left back corner with her hot pink group. She glanced around at the four different color groups. Himitsu saw that Yoshiro had ended up in the same group as that spiky purple haired boy Sawai Juri-san had been arguing with in Algebra. Yoshiro had ended up in a rather animated group as he was already laughing heartily with them. Himitsu sighed disheartening, as she nervously clicked her fingernails together in a fast rhythmic tempo. She wished she had a way with people like her friend did. He could make anyone laugh and he was never shy or quiet in a crowd. He just seemed to thrive in a boisterous environment. Himitsu wasn't exactly shy, but it took her a little bit to warm up to people, but when she did she was hardly shy. Thoughtfully quiet at times, but not exactly shy.

Glancing around Himitsu saw that Sayuri had end up in the same group as Juri-san. The group of solely girls carried on a quiet conversation, but every single one of them had friendly smiles on their faces as they chatted quietly among themselves. Why hadn't she been so lucky, she wondered with a despondent frown. She was the only girl in her group and by all appearances none of them appeared to have even a vaguely pleased expression. Apparently none of them wanted to be in this particular group. She couldn't exactly blame them. None of them had probably ever even acknowledged one another before now. The atmosphere around them was dark, like someone had pulled an ominous cloud over their heads. It was very unnerving to be squished between so many unhappy guys.

When she noticed a lanky teen boy with black shaggy hair and thick dark eyeliner that shaped his dark grey eyes giving her a rather irritable look Himitsu abruptly stopped clicking her fingernails and bowed her head in silent apology. It didn't take more than a few seconds before she grabbed her hot pink straw off her book, slipped her hands under the table and into her lap so she could give her fidgety hands something to do. The heavy silence that surrounded her was unnerving and she refused to lift her eyes from staring blankly at her textbook. If she had chosen to lift her gaze she would have seen a pair of eyes watching her reactions with a glimmer of interest shining in his calculating cherry-red colored irises.

"All right class now is the time you should introduce yourselves to your study partners." The kindly voice of Mrs. Kazumi rang out through the dank atmosphere like a large ray of sunshine through heavy clouds. Himitsu gave a small thankful smile when the teacher walked over to their group and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, before doing the same to the others that looked quite perturbed. All of the edgy students seemed to calm. With a pleasant smile and a secret wink sent in Himitsu's direction Mrs. Kazumi walked over to another group.

"Okay, whatever I'll go first." The boy to Himitsu's left said as he moved his long black shaggy bangs away from his dark grey eyes. "The name's Kazutaka Jouichirou, nice to meet you an all that." Even though his introduction was a little rude Himitsu noticed that most of the other guys smirked and chuckled and with that the tension in the group disappeared altogether as the boy to Jouichirou's left introduced himself. The rest of the group follow suit and Himitsu had a small smile playing on her lips, until the boy straight across from her spoke.

"Fuu… Akaba Hayato," When he spoke Himitsu felt goose-bumps arise on her skin. His voice was a beautiful mixture of deep baritone with a smooth and somewhat aloofly arrogant finish. It was a near perfect match to his faultless appearance. Except Himitsu couldn't help but think his voice would be perfect if there were traces of happiness intermixed within his tone and a genuine smile on his face. Shyly she let her gaze drift upwards to meet his gaze, which she could feel piercing through her. When their eyes met Himitsu's breath caught in her throat. He was breaking her down with just his gaze again. She felt so insignificant and small when his eyes fell on her. Oh, but his eyes were so very beautiful. The color contacts, for she was sure it could not be his natural eye color, were the same shade of red as his hair, which was almost cherry pink, yet it wasn't quite the same shade.

Himitsu instantly snapped her gaze away from Akaba's when the boy to his left started to speak. Subtly she took in several deep, calming breaths to cool her rattled nerves. Silently she started to reprimand herself for her behavior and thoughts. Sure he was handsome, so very handsome, but handsome men were nothing but trouble especially when they are popular and so well known. She didn't have a chance with him anyway. They lived in two separate worlds. He was merely interested in her because she had hit him twice in the same day and because of how she acted when they first met. His fascination with her would end soon enough and he would go back to not acknowledging her existence. It was really that simple. It was a rather harsh truth, but that was how it worked.

Finally it became her turn to properly introduce herself and much to her embarrassment everyone at her table was watching her. "I'm Shibutani Himitsu and it's nice to meet all of you." Her voice came out quiet and meek, not at all like she wanted. The guys just nodded their heads at her greeting before they went back to chatting amongst themselves about only god knows what. She wasn't particularly interested in most conversations guys had between themselves, as most of the time it was about sexual things or just something she found rather boring. Himitsu supposed she was in a nice group. For the most part they were all polite, in their own way of course.

"Alright, now that everyone is acquainted with their group partners I'll explain a little bit about Sociology and what we'll be trying to accomplish this year. You all better listen up because we'll be going through a lot of material and if you fall behind you probably won't be able to catch up, so _pay attention_." Mrs. Kazumi announced sternly, giving everyone in the class a hard stare. When she was satisfied that all of her students were focusing solely on her she nodded and began to speak. "Alright, now everyone here should know that Sociology is just a branch of social sciences that uses systematic methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social structure and activity, sometimes with the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare…"

As Mrs. Kazumi continued on Himitsu began to take notes of almost everything the teacher said. It would probably be more of a word-for-word pamphlet by the end of class, but that didn't matter. Even if it was a very long booklet of notes Himitsu did better in her classes when she wrote notes and studied over them instead of just reading from books. Reading the text was strenuously boring and teachers had a habit of using repetition on the more important things. Sometime later Mrs. Kazumi took a quick break and began to look through her teacher's book in order to find more information.

Himitsu dropped her pencil, leaned back in her seat and rolled her stiff shoulders thankful for the short reprieve. Somehow her eyes and mind wandered to the mysterious boy sitting directly across from her. For some reason unknown to her, she began to wonder what he was like outside of the rumors and football façade. Surely he was just like every other eighteen year old, she mused. Only he wasn't a normal guy. He was unique, beautifully unique. Himitsu slowly began to reflect on what little she knew of him, which wasn't much. It was mostly what she had witnessed at times without even knowing and had forgotten up until that very moment as she silently studied him over.

She knew for a fact that he wasn't very social outside of the football club. Everyone knew _of_ him, but only the football team really _knew_ him. At the very least they knew more than the rest of the school population. Himitsu found herself intrigued by the shroud of mystery he cloaked himself in. Did he do it simply to keep people away? Or was it simply a test of sorts to see who would be brave enough to actually try to get to know the true him behind the blue eyeshield and fame? Then again maybe it was who he truly was. She could only speculate, but stereotypical judgment would get her nowhere. If she wanted to know him, then she would have to be willing to let him see who she really was. However she was unsure if she was ready to trust someone that fully again.

Suddenly as if he felt her eyes on him, the red haired footballer's head turned and inquisitive, yet shy clear blue eyes met guarded crimson. Instantly Himitsu felt heat rise to her neck and face, but she couldn't bring herself to look away. His eyes, though covered by colored contacts were mesmerizing and she wanted to get a good look at them. Himitsu held his unflinching gaze for several long seconds, studying him, trying to see if she could find what was behind the mask. When she realized exactly what she was doing she blinked and forced her eyes away from him and onto the teacher, who was already deep into another part of their lesson.

Himitsu felt her blush brighten further. She could still feel his eyes on her and much to her embarrassment he was clearly amused by her behavior. From her peripheral vision she could see that his eyes held a flickering shine of amusement in them as he watched her and the small tell-tale quirk of his lips seemed to grow slightly, before it all but faded and he turned his attention back to the teacher. _'Why did I do that? He's going to think I'm a freak or something! Stupid, stupid, stupid!'_

Himitsu wanted to take her thick text book and bang it against her skull repeatedly. That had to be more embarrassing than when he had his arms wrapped around her in Algebra… No, wait now that she thought about it she had openly gawked at him then too. Okay so both incidents were about even on the embarrassment scale. _'How am I going to last a week with him?'_ She groaned inwardly, knowing that she was somehow going to humiliate herself further before the week was through.


End file.
